St. Joseph Catholic Church Records

Microfilm reel nos.: MF 5304-MF 5307

Introduction

Abstract

The records contained in this microfilm consist of Baptismal, Confirmation, first Communion, death, and Marriage records, and are arranged chronologically, spanning the time period from 1887 to 2002. There are eleven separate volumes in this collection, and the records progress chronologically as one volume continues where the previous volume ended. There is no overlapping from one volume to the next. The record titles in this collection are listed in Latin, using such terms as Registrum Baptizatorum for Baptismal Register, and Registrum Matrimionorum for Matrimonial Register. Because the Catholic Church practices infant baptism, it also confirms its members' baptisms at a later age. A record series index follows the Description of Subordinate Components in this guide.

This collection does not contain any administrative records, such as minutes of committees or financial records. There are no records concerning Church or school classes, nor social or service groups within the parish. In the Catholic Church, records of this nature are normally transferred to the archives of the Diocese or Archdiocese. In addition to the evidential value of these records in relation to their ecclesiastical use, these records are useful mostly as sources of genealogical information.

This microfilmed manuscript collection circulates through interlibrary loan from KSHS. Please indicate the reel number when requesting microfilm.

Dates

1887 - 2002

Quantity

4 microfilm reels

Title

Saint Joseph Catholic Church records

Identification

Microfilm reel nos.: MF 5304-MF 5307; Manuscript collection no. 5026

Creator

Saint Joseph Catholic Church (Topeka, Kan.)

Repository

Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka)

Biography

St. Joseph German Catholic Church was not the earliest Catholic congregation in Topeka, Kansas. That distinction belongs to Assumption Parish, established in Topeka as early as 1862. Catholic history in Kansas dates back to the territorial days at the Indian mission located in the town that would become St. Marys. The Church of the Assumption was established by the missionaries of St. Marys.

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the tsarist government of Russia used a variety of inducements to attract Germans to settle in the frontier region of the Volga. Over the years, tens of thousands of Germans migrated to Russia, developing the region's agricultural resources. The benefits that the tsar used to attract German immigrants, most notably military exemption, were expiring by the 1880s. That being the case, these German Russians felt the need to leave Russia.

The Reverend William Staerkel, a Reformed Church missionary working in Kansas and Nebraska, traveled to the Volga region to encourage Russian Germans to move to these two States. Staerkel intended Protestant Russian Germans to migrate to Nebraska and Catholics to move to Kansas, with Topeka as their main terminus. Large numbers of Russian Germans did, in fact, emigrate to these two states, and though many Catholics did move to rural areas and acquire agricultural land, a significant number settled in Topeka. It was these Catholic German Russians (who still spoke German even after living in Russia for several generations) that needed their own Church.

In December of 1886, Bishop Louis M. Fink instructed Father Francis Henry to organize a German - speaking parish in Topeka. Before the construction of their new church building, Father Henry assisted Father James O'Reilly in celebrating Mass for the new St. Joseph parishioners at the Assumption Church. During its initial months of formation, Assumption Church accommodated St. Joseph Parish. Masses at Assumption were conducted in German at 7:00 and at 9:00, and in English at 8:00.

This first order of business was to acquire a building, and by December of 1887, Father Henry presided over the dedication of a two - story building located at 213 West Third Street. This structure provided room for a sanctuary and nave, a school and a rectory.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, church membership grew rapidly, necessitating plans for a newer, larger church building. By the summer of 1898, St. Joseph's received blueprints for a new church. Construction proceeded according to the availability of money, so the new building was not completed until 1909, a period of eleven years.

Even though Father Henry could speak English he always conducted his Church services in German, for the sake of his parishioners. Father Henry served for a period of forty - six years, from 1887 until his death in 1932. Even during World War I, when Germans and their descendants were pressured to shed their ethnicity, Henry refused to yield to these pressures. This was due largely to the fact that his parishioners were not part of the social mainstream in Topeka society. Also, the immigrant members of St. Joseph's were from Russia, rather than Germany, and did not feel any patriotic connection with the latter country. The only change that St. Joseph's made during that time was the removal of the term "German" from its name.

After Father Henry died in 1932, he was succeeded by Father Anthony Blaufuss. It was Father Blaufuss who initiated bilingual services. Blaufuss made this change because he spoke high German while his congregants spoke low German, and had difficulty understanding him. Also, by this time the old generation of immigrant members was dying and being replaced by American - born children and grandchildren.

The advancement of time produced changes, not only at St. Joseph's, but also in Topeka, which in turn influenced St. Joseph's again. Many of the members of St. Joseph's were Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company employees, who worked at the Santa Fe shops in the Oakland neighborhood east of Topeka. A new parish was needed for the members who lived and worked on that side of town, and by 1921, Sacred Heart Parish was born.

After World War II, Topeka experienced tremendous change. New suburban neighborhoods were built out in all directions from what has become central Topeka, and St. Joseph's, which had had a large membership, was starting to lose members. At the end of the 1970 academic school year, the St. Joseph Parochial School closed, and the convent closed shortly after. The overwhelming influence of Russian - German ethnicity of St. Joseph's has faded. While those of German descent are still active in the parish, the demographic profile of the congregation is no longer composed of just one nationality.

Scope and Content

The records contained in this microfilm consist of Baptismal, Confirmation, first Communion, death, and Marriage records, and are arranged chronologically, spanning the time period from 1887 to 2002. There are eleven separate volumes in this collection, and the records progress chronologically as one volume continues where the previous volume ended. There is no overlapping from one volume to the next. The record titles in this collection are listed in Latin, using such terms as Registrum Baptizatorum for Baptismal Register, and Registrum Matrimionorum for Matrimonial Register. Because the Catholic Church practices infant baptism, it also confirms its members' baptisms at a later age. A record series index follows the Description of Subordinate Components in this guide.

This collection does not contain any administrative records, such as minutes of committees or financial records. There are no records concerning Church or school classes, nor social or service groups within the parish. In the Catholic Church, records of this nature are normally transferred to the archives of the Diocese or Archdiocese. In addition to the evidential value of these records in relation to their ecclesiastical use, these records are useful mostly as sources of genealogical information.

Contents List

Organization of the Collection

The eleven volumes are arranged chronologically. All of these volumes contain information on Baptisms, and half contain information on Marriages, first Communions, Confirmations and deaths. The order in which this record series appear is not consistent from one volume to the next, though, chronologically speaking, one volume continues where the previous one ended. The Description of Subordinate Components section, below, explains and itemizes what records are recorded in each volume.

1st Communions

Marriages

Nov 1887 - Sep 1908 Vol. 1

Jan 26, 1909 - Jan 18, 1919 Vol. 2

Jul 23, 1919 - Feb 20, 1930 Vol. 4

Sept. 10, 1937 - Jan 19, 2002. Vol. 7

Related Materials

The Kansas State Historical Society has manuscripts concerning the Catholic Church in the collections below. The microfilm listed may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Check catalogs and finding aids in the Research Room for other holdings.

Historical Sketches of Parishes and Churches within the Diocese of Leavenworth (Churches history collection, Catholic subgroup): Ms. Coll. 567

Index Terms

Access Points

The terms listed below may include names, places, subjects, occupations, titles, and other words describing this collection. These terms are used in the ATLAS online catalog used by the Kansas State Historical Society and affiliated libraries in Topeka as well as libraries and archives subscribing to OCLC, a national library/archives database. Searches on these words should produce a description of this collection as well as other books and collections that may be of interest.

Additional Information for Researchers

Acquisition information

Restrictions on access

None

Copyright/Publication rights

The Kansas State Historical Society does not own literary property rights to these records.

Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (title 17, U.S. Code). The user is cautioned that the publication of the contents of this microfilm may be construed as constituting a violation of literary property rights. These rights derive from the principle of common law, affirmed in the copyright law of 1976 as amended, that the writer of an unpublished letter or other manuscript has the sole right to publish the contents thereof unless he or she affirmatively parts with that right; the right descends to his or her legal heirs regardless of the ownership of the physical manuscript itself. It is the responsibility of a user or his or her publisher to secure the permission of the owner of literary property rights in unpublished writing.

Alternate form available

Original records are in the possession of St. Joseph Catholic Church (Topeka, Kan.)